This year the company did something completely different with our Halloween party.   Rather than just the usual games, the usual punch, and the usual candy, management decided to make Halloween a corporate team building programs experience.  A few employees were irritated by this sudden information, but the experiences went well in the end.  Everyone was still dressed up and still had a fun party.

If anything, the party atmosphere helped to lessen some of the tension and drudgery of the typical sort of seminars we go to.  Our CEO, a 55 year old, three piece suit businessman, actually arrived to the party in a Rocky Horror Picture Show costume.  That should provide you with some idea of how relaxed the atmosphere of the office was.  It was his invention too, from pieces he had been collecting for three months from antique stores here and there in the city.

In the beginning of the day, we had pumpkin pasties, pumpkin orange juice, Krispy Kremes, and a whole bunch of sugar that left everyone soaring for about four hours.  During those hours, we took a tour around the rest of the office for those who chose not to get into costume: most people had a good laugh.  In spite of all the fun we had, it seemed like we got more work done than usual.  The costume party went great, a guy in Luscious Malfoy costume winning the grand prize of, of course, more candy and a cheesy little handcrafted trophy he gets to keep on his desk.   He also went the handcrafted route for his costume.

In the afternoon, we had our miniature, “unofficial” (people thought it was too fun to be a real one) training seminar.  The people holding the seminar threaded fun games in with the normal business matters, an idea that helped make the day go quicker.  If anything, the costumes, the candy, and the laughter actually helped to strengthen our company morale and loyalties between employees.  My boss of the Rocky Horror Picture Show costume is, in fact, considering throwing another seminar/party for Christmas.

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